Focal denervation of the
olfactory bulb

Since we have spent a long time looking at the effects of
reduced activation
of the bulb, we began to look at the effects of sugically eliminating
input to
the bulb. By placing a small chip of Teflon between the bulb and the
bone
separating it from the nasal cavity (the cribriform plate) we can
denervate a
very small region of the bulb.

Below you see the effects of this procedure on the development
of the bulb.
The teflon chip is placed where the red line is. Changes in the
organization in
the bulb on the experimental side at this point (“a”) and at a
control point (“b”) with age are shown in higher detail in the
small panels at the bottom. P10 = postnatal day 10. Horizontal sections.

We have also looked at developmental changes in a host of
other markers,
including (from top to bottom ), olfactory marker protein, calretinin,
calbindin, parvalbumin, map2, and tyrosine hydroxylase (in each panel
at right,
experimental tissue is on the top and control tissue is underneath)